


Feels Like Forever

by BrokenBookAddict



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Love, New Beginnings, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Sex, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:41:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22832740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenBookAddict/pseuds/BrokenBookAddict
Summary: With flares of different colour light dancing across every surface, rain falling harshly against the glass, Mac takes comfort in a quiet moment after the chaos of Election night.
Relationships: Will McAvoy/MacKenzie McHale
Comments: 18
Kudos: 75





	Feels Like Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Obvious disclaimer where I state I do not own The Newsroom.

The sound of the heavy rain hitting the glass pane of the floor to ceiling window fills the silence of the bedroom. Droplets of water run down the glass and the random patterns they create are quickly renewed, one after another after another.

After all the chaos of Election night, it makes for a soothing atmosphere. She's always loved the rain, at least when she's indoors dry and curled up with a cup of tea. 

Across the floor, clothing rests having been abandoned. Faint light comes from out in the hall, casting a low glow through the open doorway but isn't needed. 

Flares of colour dance across every surface of the room, every colour of the rainbow delivered by the multitude of billboards out on the street beyond her window. Her eyes track the shades as they cast across his naked skin; pink, blue, yellow and green... 

Sitting among her twisted sheets, clad in the dress shirt he'd worn and hadn't changed out of after the election broadcast that she'd scooped up from the floor, she absently twists her newest accessory around her finger. Biting her lip she looks down to study it in greater detail and comes to the conclusion that it really is a beautiful ring and it really is like just the one she'd described seeing in a movie once. He'd remembered that moment, an off hand comment made on a lazy Sunday afternoon curled up on the couch. But even now hours later despite the euphoria, her world still feels off kilter as she adjusts to the sudden turn of events that has taken place tonight, well last night considering it's the earlier hours of the morning. They'd gone from arguing in his office to her baiting him into firing her for Genoa, to arguing again in hair and makeup, to him confessing his love and proposing to her in during a break in their election coverage. It's been a lot to take in and process, a full range of emotions hitting her but overall, the one thing that stands out is a simple sense of finally. Finally he's worked through what he needed to forgive her, finally he's taken the step to allow himself to love her again and the result is the ring on her finger and him naked in her bed. 

From her position at the foot of the bed, she watches as he wakes from his brief slumber, his hand moves across the sheets to where she had been lying previous. She smirks when a frown crosses his handsome face when he encounters nothing but empty space. She's missed the quiet moments like this which allow her to observe as he wakes up a little drowsy, naked except for the sheet resting low at his hips as he sprawls on his stomach across the bed. Sometimes it's the little things as well as the big that a person yearns for. By God, how she yearned for this. 

"You looking for me?" Mac asks quietly, breaking the quiet settled over the room. 

"Hmm," he hums then turns his head in the direction of her voice, opening his beautiful eyes to find here at the foot. "What are you doing down there?" 

She shrugs, as though it isn't a big deal when they both know it really is, what's happened tonight is a pretty big fucking deal. "Watching you." 

"Why?" 

Sadness crosses her face briefly but she doesn't mask it quick enough to hide it from him. "Because I missed it." 

Will shifts onto his side, propping himself up to rest his head in his hand. "You'll never have to miss anything again." 

His reassurance lightens her but there's still a heaviness she's carrying within. It's something that needs to be addressed. "Tomorrow-- today actually, we have to talk. We have a lot to talk about and I know it would be so easy to simply draw a line under it all and say that's it, to move on but I don't... I think for us to really move on and move forward together, we have to discuss and accept the past and what happened between us, then everything that followed after." 

Will stares at her, feeling his stomach drop and his mind becomes almost overwhelmed at the thought of dredging it all up. Brian, Nina, the league of woman he paraded through the news room, Wade and so much more... but deep down he knows she's right. He can hear Habib in his mind, encouraging him that this is a good thing which again is something he understands but there's also the feeling like he owes her this. He sighs heavily and nods in agreement. "I think you're right and I think I owe you the chance I never gave you all those years ago. The chance to explain."

It takes Mac a moment to fully accept his agreement however cautious it is because she fully expected disagreement, an argument of why dragging up the past was unnecessary but it is. For them to move forward stronger, they have to close of the weakest chapter of their life. 

"Thank you." 

Will nods, knowing for that moment the conversation is sidelined until later, so he turns his attention to her bare legs stretched out in front of him. With his free hand, he traces his fingertips slowly from her knee to her ankle. "I've missed your legs." 

Mac rolls her eyes. "You see them everyday." 

"Not like this," Will tells her, shaking his head. "I've missed them wrapped around me." 

Raising an eyebrow at that, she withdraws her leg from his possession to allow her to move to his side instead. His fingers immediately unbuttoned the two little buttons holding his shirt closed to bare her to his gaze. This time his fingertips brush along her skin, tracing her collarbone to the valley of her breasts. They dip lower and trace feather like across her scar but unlike earlier he doesn't linger. The memory of his face when he first saw it, the pain in his eyes is still ever so fresh that she tries instead to focus upon something else. Something not so maudlin. 

Then it's pop to the forefront of her mind, something that for months had caused her to be like a dog after a bone. 

Mac bites her lip as she bites back a smile, both from his gentle touch but also from the thought that filters through her. "Will?" 

"Hmm?" 

Good, he's distracted which may work entirely in her favour. "What did the message say?" 

His eyes cast up to hers briefly then back to her chest. "What?" 

Yes, he's definitely distracted as his fingers circle her right nipple. It's almost enough to distract her, _almost_. 

"What did the rest of the message say?" 

It breaks through finally and he locks his gaze to hers. "Seriously?" His hand stops wandering, resting now over her ribcage instead. "Why is it--"

"It matters to me. Unless you really don't remember what you said that night." 

He exhales softly, almost resigned. "Of course I remember." 

"Then come on Billy, tell me what the rest of the mess--" 

Fingers leave her breast to cover her mouth, smothering any further words left to be said. 

A silent standoff commences as they stare at one another but his resolve is fragile and he crumbles and finally tells her what she wants to know. He's always struggled to deny her anything, even when he was supposed to be angry and hate her. She's always been his weakness, in anything and everything and will continue to be so for the rest of their lives. 

_"‘Hey Mac, it’s me-- Will. Listen, I swear I’m not just saying this because I’m high: If the answer is no, then do me a favour and don't call me back or bring it up or anything. But I have to tell you-- I mean, after tonight, I really want to tell you that I’ve never stopped loving you. You were spectacular tonight.’ Then there’s a-- a pause, and I say, ‘can you believe we got Obama?'”_

Nothing follows for what feels like an age after he finishes, then...

"Oh."

That's a lot for her to take in, especially accepting the knowledge that he admitted to still loving her months ago and she hadn't known. _She hadn't known_. Fuck that bitch Nina Howard and TMI, fuck Reese too for good measure. They'd taken that away from her when they hacked her phone. It surprises not only herself but Will as well that she stays calm, not allowing her rolling emotions to interrupt and possibly spoil everything with a furious outburst. When she fails to say anymore, Will continues talking, half afraid of what the silence and lack of reaction says. 

"You didn't call me back and you never said anything so I thought..."

"The answer was no," she finishes for him, a look of utter disbelief mixes with sadness which is clear across her pretty face. "How could you even think that?" 

"Because you did exactly as I asked, if the answer was no."

" _Billy_." 

"It wasn't until I was in the hospital that it became clear you hadn't got the message, that your answer wasn't no but I didn't exactly know if your answer was yes either." 

"I literally begged you everyday for two months for you to tell me." 

"I know," he says quietly. "I think we've established I was an idiot." 

"Oh, absolutely." Mac huffs a soft laugh before turning sombre. "We've wasted so much time." 

Will hand cups her face, his thumb brushing along her lower lip. "No, I wasted so much time," he admits honestly, because he's the boy shredding paper, he just needed to stop. "There were so many times where I wanted to kiss you." 

"Yeah?" 

"Oh definitely." 

"You can kiss me now, you know." She gives him permission he doesn't need.

So he does. His kiss is slow, thorough and deliberate as if he's committing every single detail of it to memory. His hand tilts her head just so as his lips part and his tongue traces along her lower lip. Her unavoidable whimper clashes with his groan when their tongues meet and the kiss deepens further, the heat rising between them. The feel of his fingers tracing down her spine has her arching back into his touch, a soft smile hidden against his neck after he breaks the kiss. Mouth moving along her cheek, her jaw, her throat... Shifting her head back, she looks at him a little dazed when he sighs softly against her skin. 

He settles more comfortably onto his side, pulling her against him so she can feel him hard against her thigh. She raises an eyebrow at him in teasing. "My my, again Mr McAvoy?" She playfully quips, lifting a hand to run her fingers through his messy hair, failing to tame it.

"It's your fault." 

"My fault..." she repeats innocently while not so innocently slipping her leg over his hip. Her eyes close at the feel of him nudging against her center and she fuels the fire by rocking against him, smiling when he groans. "Maybe I should do something about it then." 

"I think so." 

The words have barely left his lips before she's covering them with her own. She kisses him slow, her tongue teasing as her hand trails down his chest as his slip between her thighs. Her whimpers gets lost in his mouth as his fingers work their magic when he slides two inside of her. They stay that way until she gasps, grinding against his hand as she comes apart. Will has barely removed his hand when with a quickness that surprises them both, she has him on his back. She breaks the kiss to rise up above him, reaching down to take him in hand to direct him into place. A choked groan escapes him when she sinks down onto his cock. Taking him fully in as she surrounds his length, hot, tight and wet. 

It's fucking glorious for them both. 

"Fuck," he mutters, moving his hands to her hips to steady and assist her. 

Mac laughs under her breath, watching him for a reaction when she squeezes her inner muscles around him. 

"Fuck me," he groans almost helplessly beneath her. His hips flex up into her almost of their own accord. "Mackenzie..." 

For the second time tonight, this feels one thousands times better than either remember it being. As corny, as sappy as it is, it feels like coming home. 

Leaning forward, she braces one hand on the pillow beside his head while the other rests on his chest. Slowly she starts to move, doing exactly as he muttered. Fucking him slow and deep, her hips rolling into his steadying. 

"Mackenzie..." Now there's a sound she's always been so fond of, her name falling from his lips almost in a whine, something he'll always deny uttering. "Mac, you're killing me."

He sits up and she goes with him easily, so they're resting chest to chest, face to face. She pants against his cheek as she grinds herself down hard onto him. Her fingers curl into his hair, cradling his head as she kisses him. "You love it," she whispers against his mouth, nails of one hand digging into his shoulder as he hits that sweet spot over and over inside of her. 

"I love you," he corrects quietly, almost absently around a moan of pleasure as she tightens around him on the downward motion. "Fuck." 

She falters in her movements resting with him buried deep inside of her, breathing hard, her eyes impossibly wide. She doesn't know why it has such an impact in this moment but it does. He'd said it earlier of course but it had been a rush of words and emotions all colliding at once like a freight train. _I'm in love with you, will you marry me, I'll never hurt you again, will you marry me_ and then he was kissing her, slipping the ring onto her finger, kissing her again before making an announcement to the staff which had been followed by celebrations of champagne and cigars... This is different, hearing it now after things had somewhat settled down, is different. Because now it's just them wrapped up in the intimacy of each other as the light filters in through her window bathing them in a vareity of colour. 

Immediately he notices her ceased movement. "What?" His eyes now the colour of a midnight sky, pupils blown with lust stare back at her in clouded confusion. "What's wrong?" 

"You love me." 

"Oh," he says quietly, looking her in the eye. "I do." He shrugs, his arms tightening around her. "I love you," he tells her again, so simple and to the point like it really isn't that big a deal at all. 

Except it is, it's a pretty big fucking deal which they both know. She's been wanting to hear those words from him for years since she fucked it all up. 

Mac bites her lip, she can feel the prick of tears in the back of her eyes. "I know you said it earlier but-- you haven't said it in a really long time. I'd almost given up hope of hearing those words from you again." 

His hands move to cup her face. "I'm an idiot but that doesn't mean it hasn't been true for all these years." 

She stares at him, her heart which had already been beating wildly due to their activities, almost doubles down in it's efforts. "I love you too." 

"I know." 

Mac rolls her eyes at his playful arrogance, about to offer a retort when she feels herself being rolled over until he's suddenly above her. His hands frame her face, his eyes on her as he pulls almost all the way out only to thrust back in, hard. 

"Oh..." her nails dig into his back as he moves. "Like that, Billy, please." 

Her left foot traces up his calf as her right hooks over his hip. 

The bed moves in time with his thrusts, hitting the wall with a dull thud everytime. In a far corner of her mind, she worries about her neighbours but when his hand slips between them to her clit, she cease caring. 

"Billy..." 

When she finally falls over the edge into oblivion, every nerve ending screams as her orgasm rockets through her. Through heaving breaths, she coaxs him on until he follows with her name lost in the crook of her neck. She holds him to her, welcoming his weight as she soothes gentle fingers through his damp hair. 

Eventually in spite of her protests, Will moves off of her to collapse at her side. He gathers her close, about to settle in when his phone chimes. With a groan he gets up, after a quick glance around finds his pants across the room. 

Mac watches him through hooded eyes as he looks at his Blackberry. "Who is it? Is something wrong? Is there news?"

"No." Will drops the phone to her dresser before making his way back to bed, sliding in to her waiting embrace. "It's Charlie. He doesn't want to see us in the office until the last rundown. He said the kids have it under control." 

"Such confidence, maybe he's forgotten what can happen." Mac barely conceals her exhausted giggles. "So lets hope we don't end up with another crazy internet professor, a 2nd place runner up of a beauty contest and a--"

Will kisses her, stopping her ramble mid sentence. "You've barely had any rest in days, it's time to sleep now honey."

"Hmm," she mutters, dropping her head against his chest. "So I don't look like I've been grown in a dark and damp environment?"

He smothers a laugh not wanting to rile her up and face her wrath, despite how much he enjoys arguing with her. Right now, she needs to rest. "You're beautiful Mac but you need to sleep." 

She settles fully against him, slipping a leg between his, her head on his shoulder with her hand over his heart. Beneath her palm she can feel his heart beat and along with his fingers soothing through her hair, it lulls her. "I love you, Billy." She whispers as her breathing evens out, signalling she's finally fallen asleep. 

"I love you too," he rasps, low and rough, turning his head to kiss her forehead gently. As he closes his own eyes to follow after her into a restful slumber, his last though is _I'm finally going to marry her._

As the flares of different colour continue to dance across the room, they fall asleep together for the first time in what feels like forever. 

The end. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading


End file.
